Causality
by CellarDoor96
Summary: Celebi finds an egg in the future, and brings it to the past. But what happens when it hatches... into another Celebi? Can she and Azelf solve the mystery of where it came from, while taking care of it? Pairing is female Celebi & male Azelf. DISCONTINUED
1. The Egg

I do not own Pokemon or the characters' species, but I own the characters.

**Causality**

**Chapter 1**

The sun was shining brightly, and the day was pleasantly warm. The sunlight, however, fell on a dry wasteland, and there was no one to enjoy the warmth. There was no sound, nothing moved. In the middle of the wasteland was a tall, white building, with a few windows dotting its surface. They were dark and covered, no sunlight reaching inside.

The day was still.

Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering. A small green object flew out through a window as it was shattered, sending glass everywhere. The green creature fluttered its translucent wings, ignoring the cuts made in its skin by the flying glass. In its arms was clutched protectively a small white, round object.

A skittering noise followed, increasing quickly until finally becoming a steady screeching noise, as small metallic things began to emerge through the broken window. They skittered on many legs, pouring out the window and down the side of the building, thousands upon thousands. Once the first reached the empty, dry ground, they began to crawl along it after the flying green creature.

The green creature glanced back, eyes widening in fear, and then strained its wings to try to go faster. In the distance it could see a line of trees; safety.

For several minutes, the trees in the distance came steadily closer, but the wave of tiny metallic creatures kept up perfectly. The green creature's hopes rose as the trees drew nearer. It glanced down at the round object it was carrying, then returned its focus to the trees.

Finally the creature zipped into the trees and landed on a branch, leaning back against the trunk and breathing heavily. _I… made it._

Then it looked down and realized that the steady screeching noise hadn't stopped; to its horror, it realized that the metallic things were climbing up the tree.

A determined look came across the green creature's face, and it then closed its eyes, concentrating. The forest stirred, and the fallen leaves that had carpeted its floor began to move, whipped around by a wind that wasn't there. They rose into the air and began to swirl, slowly at first, then gaining speed, circling around the army of metal creatures and obscuring them from sight.

The green creature relaxed, slumping wearily against the tree trunk and sighing. Gradually, the screeching noise died down and stopped altogether, and then the leaves began to fall away, returning to the forest floor where they had come from. The green creature smiled thankfully.

Then the skittering noise began again. The creature jumped, then shot a glance downward, and swallowed. The metallic things were still there, and they were starting up the tree again.

Quickly the green creature straightened, pulling the white round object it held closer to its chest, and took off, flying further into the forest. The metallic creatures struggled to get back down the tree, but others were in their way, and so they dissolved into a chaotic mess as they attempted to reorient themselves.

The green creature looked back and breathed a sigh of relief, then turned back to see where it was going and was promptly struck in the face by a tree branch. Giving a cry of surprise and dismay, it fell to the leafy ground, landing on its back, and the white round object it had held flew off into a particularly thick layer of leaves. The creature laid there, stunned, for several seconds.

A skittering noise then came, but it was from the opposite direction the creature had been fleeing from. The green creature blinked, before grabbing its head and sitting up, wincing.

A metallic, spider-like creature appeared, scuttling through the trees. It looked identical to the others, but this one was much bigger, slightly larger than the green winged creature.

Two red eyes in its surface locked on to the green creature, and a voice spoke from it. "Well, what is this?"

The green creature looked up at it, gulping as its eyes widened. It spoke telepathically, its "voice" being heard by the metallic creature. "Please, why can't you leave me alone?"

"You were important to FOG. Due to your escape, you have been slated as dangerous and will be terminated. Where is the egg?"

The green creature stood up slowly. "I'm not dangerous, if you let me go I swear I won't give you any trouble."

"Where is the egg?" the metallic creature simply repeated.

The green creature glanced around at the forest, beginning to back away. "I… I'll take you to it. Okay?"

"No. Divulge the location of the egg."

"If I tell you, will you agree not to kill me?"

"No."

"Well then, I won't tell you." The green creature suddenly stopped backing up as its back met a tree. It gulped.

"Very well. You will be terminated." The metallic creature scurried forward slightly.

The green creature winced. "C-can we talk about this?"

The metallic creature did not reply. Instead it suddenly darted forward, stabbing one sharp leg end into the other creature's stomach.

The green creature looked down, seeing the metallic leg piercing its midriff, and grunted at the explosion of pain that resulted. A red liquid began to seep from between the embedded metal and the edges of the wound. The green creature then glanced up at the red, glowing, emotionless eyes of the other creature, and said telepathically, "I… hope this… satisfies you…"

Another of the creature's legs flashed forward and pierced the green creature's chest. "Yes. It does."

The green creature gasped, reaching up and grasping the leg in its chest. "Go… die… please." Then it whimpered and went limp, its eyes closing, and its arms falling to hang by its sides. Blood dripped from its wounds and its hands, which were soaked.

The metallic creature withdrew its sharp legs with several sickening sucking noises. Then, letting the body fall to the ground carelessly, it turned and scurried off, without a second thought.

The forest was still once more.

Then a flash of light lit up the forest a few feet away, and when it died down another green creature was standing there. It began to survey its surroundings, when a breeze blew through the forest and stirred the leaves. A flash of white among a bed of leaves caught the green creature's eye.

Moving toward the white spot, the creature then began to brush away the leaves, soon uncovering a small round shape. The creature looked at it, then glanced at its surroundings, before bending down and gently picking up the object. Then the green creature, and the round object it now held, disappeared in another flash of light.


	2. Hatching

**Chapter 2**

Celebi emerged from the trees, holding a round white object. Landing on the snow and putting said object down, she called telepathically, "Azelf!"

The lake that spread out before her bubbled, and a moment later a small blue creature broke through its surface. Its eyes opened, revealing them to be yellow, and it yawned, floating out of the water, its body surprisingly dry. "What's wrong, Celebi?" Azelf asked telepathically, blinking in the sunlight.

Celebi gestured at the round object next to her. "I found this."

He glanced at it dubiously. "What is it?"

"It's an egg, what else?"

His eyes widened. "An egg?! Where'd you get it?!"

"I found it in the future… It was abandoned. I didn't know what else to do with it, so I brought it here…"

He floated toward her, landing on the snow as well, and inspected it. "Do you know what it'll hatch into?"

She shrugged. "No."

He stared at her. "Well… why did you bring it to me?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to show you or something before I went to ask Uxie what to do with it…" She picked the egg up.

"What kind of… future was it that it was found in?"

She frowned. "It wasn't very pretty in general… I usually avoid that time period. I'm not sure why I went there just now, something told me I should… It's mostly the humans destroying nature, like they always do. This entire area, actually, turns into a… wasteland. From what I could tell when I first went there."

Azelf blinked. "Wait, if it's a wasteland, and the lake is gone… Then what happens to me?"

"I don't know. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine." She smiled.

Then both of them froze as, quite unexpectedly, the egg moved. A moment later, a tiny crack appeared in its shell, which quickly expanded, running down the length of the hard, smooth surface. With a cracking noise, the egg split apart, pieces flaking off and releasing a thick, gooey substance.

Azelf and Celebi both stared as a tiny head emerged from the egg, soaked with more of the gooey substance. Opening its mouth, it gasped for air, then struggled to get the rest of its body out of the eggshell.

Celebi instinctively took the egg and cracked it open a little more, to help the creature. Finally it got the rest of itself out, flopping exhaustedly onto the shell and breathing hard. It was shiny with the gooey material.

Celebi picked the tiny creature up with one hand, letting the remains of the egg fall to the ground. Then, she spoke telepathically, sounding dazed. "It's… me."

Azelf stared at the small creature, which indeed was green and looked much like a smaller version of the fairy-like Pokemon. It turned its head around as if examining its surroundings, only its eyes were closed. "It appears so."

There was a silence. Then the baby fairy started crying, wailing surprisingly loud without even opening its eyes.

Celebi and Azelf both jumped. Celebi looked at the newborn she was holding, eyes widening. "Uh, uh, what do I do? What does it want?"

Azelf backed away a step. "Don't look at me, _I_ don't know…"

Celebi realized that both the baby and her hands were covered with… egg goop. "Ugh, gross… Maybe it wants to be clean…" She carried the newborn creature to the edge of the lake, then realized something. "Hold on, what if it drowns?"

"Just put it in really quickly, and it shouldn't," Azelf said, turning to watch her.

She sighed. "Fine." Then she bent and immersed the baby Celebi in the water, pulling it back out a moment later. It was now wet, but a little cleaner. And it was much quieter.

Azelf moved closer and inspected it. "It's… very still…"

Celebi gasped. "No, is it dead?!" At that moment the baby twitched, starting to writhe, and began to cry again.

Celebi gave a sigh of relief, then glanced at Azelf with a worried expression. "What now?"

He shrugged. "I don't know! Feed it or something…"

"Oh. Food." She wanted to slap herself. "Of course, it's probably hungry… But wait, what does it eat?"

"It looks like you," Azelf observed, "so what do you eat?"

She stared at him. "Plants and berries, but I'm not sure it could eat those, it was just born…"

"Humans feed their babies milk."

"Yes, well, there isn't any milk here. Humans are born live anyway, this hatched from an egg…"

"Well, I don't know then!" Azelf threw his arms in the air in exasperation. "Just give it water to placate it until you figure out what to feed it!"

"What do you mean, 'you'? You're going to help, too." Celebi glared.

Azelf groaned. "Fine…"

Celebi handed the baby to him; he blinked in surprise as he accepted it. Then she stood on the water's edge and studied first the water of the lake, then her hand. Her hand was small and possessed only three fingers. "Um, Azelf? Do you happen to have anything to hold water in?"

"No." He grimaced as the infant squirmed in his grasp.

Celebi sighed, turning back to him. "Alright, then I don't know."

Azelf then had an idea. As he struggled to keep his hold on the baby, he suggested, "Why don't you find a berry and squeeze the juice into its mouth? You don't have to worry about it chewing."

She brightened. "Yes, thanks! Take care of it for a little bit, alright?"

Azelf was about to reply when she fluttered her wings and flew off into the forest. He blinked, then looked down at the baby Celebi, which was still crying and squirming. He gently stroked it to try to calm it down, saying thoughtfully, "I wonder where you came from… And why you look like Celebi, and why you won't open your eyes… Sh, don't worry, you'll have food soon…" _Ugh, I hope we can figure out who its parents are, I don't want to be stuck taking care of it… Unless…_

A thought suddenly occurred to him, and his eyes widened. _Celebi said she found it in the future, so what if… it's… actually _our_ child? Crap…_


	3. Departure

**Chapter 3**

Celebi took a deep breath and closed her eyes to try to calm herself. _Agh, I can't take care of a baby! I need to take it back, but there was no one else there. Maybe I can find someone else to take care of it. Yeah. That's what I'll do… But why does it look like me? Is it… Oh crap, it can't be_ mine_, can it?! Could it be that in the future, Azelf and I… have a child?_

A blush spread across her face, as she quickly shook her head and opened her eyes. Then another thought occurred to her. _But maybe… I'm not the only Celebi? Maybe… there are others!_

She sighed and took in her surroundings. She was still in the frost-covered forest, and, as she reminded herself, the newborn which she had found herself caring for was still hungry. _There must be a berry somewhere…_ Fluttering her wings, she rose into the air again, zipping off to find said berry.

Soon she located a plant with a few small blue berries on it. Quickly pulling them off, she turned and reengaged her wings, flying back the way she had come. Momentarily she broke through the shrubbery to find… Azelf sitting on the snow and holding the baby Celebi, which was no longer crying. Its eyes were still closed, but it was curled into a ball in his arms.

He looked up at her approach, but didn't say anything. Celebi smiled, moving to sit next to him and putting her harvest on the snow. "You got it to go to sleep."

He nodded quickly. "Don't be too loud, I don't want it to wake up again…"

She nodded in acknowledgement, fingering the berries thoughtfully. "Well… now that we've got it, what do we do with it?"

"I don't know, you were the one who found it. Just take it back where it came from."

"It was abandoned. And, well, I really want to know why it looks like me…"

"Okay, then, ask Uxie."

"I know… But what do we do with it while we ask Uxie? I'm… not sure it would exactly appreciate the cold there. It'll be even colder that far north than it is here."

Azelf sighed. "I can't leave this lake anyway, not voluntarily, at least… So I guess I'll have to take care of it while you go get Uxie."

She glanced at the baby version of herself. "…Will you be alright with it? I mean, I know you don't really know anything about parenting…"

He winced. "It's not really 'parenting', more like… 'caretaking'."

"Hm… Wait, I know." She brightened. "I _can_ travel through time, right? So I can just go ask Uxie for his advice, then time-travel back to around now, and tell you what he said. You won't have to wait at all."

He nodded, smiling. "Alright, that works. So, um, when are you—"

He was cut off as the baby in his arms began to cry again. Both him and Celebi looked down at it in surprise, watching it writhe and wail with its eyes still closed. After a moment Azelf picked it up and cradled it. It grabbed at his arms with its tiny hands, but didn't stop crying.

Celebi giggled. "See, I think you like it."

He sighed in exasperation, pulling one arm free and holding it out to her. "Give me one of those berries."

"Oh, right." She picked up one of the small blue berries and handing it to him. He studied it, wincing as the baby Pokemon tried to bite him. It had no teeth yet, but that didn't mean it couldn't hurt.

Finally he maneuvered the berry over the baby's mouth, trying to open said mouth at the same time, but it just kept biting him. After a few tries he looked up at Celebi. "Hold its mouth open, will you?"

She nodded, taking the baby Pokemon from him and gently pulling open its mouth. To Azelf's wonderment, it did not try to bite her at all. "H-how did you do that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Come on."

He sighed, taking the berry in his now saliva-covered hands and holding it over the baby's mouth. Then he squeezed.

Nothing happened.

"Celebi, this berry is a little hard… You probably should have gotten a softer one." His face contorted as he strained the muscles in his small hands.

She grunted. "Try harder."

Then the berry exploded, squirting blue juice everywhere. No one moved, too surprised to react, and even the newborn Pokemon became silent as the aforementioned juice covered both of its new caretakers.

Azelf then winced, withdrawing his arm. "Oops. Sorry."

Celebi glanced down at the juice that was dripping down her body. "…It's fine, I'll just have to borrow your lake for a while after this…"

Then she noticed something else. "Crap."

"What?"

She grimaced. "I meant that literally. It just… messed on me."

He glanced at the baby. "So _that's_ why it stopped crying…"

She glared at him. "It's not funny."

"I wasn't laughing." He showed her the remains of the berry. "Well, now what?"

She picked up the baby and then, carefully, as if it were a bomb, placed it on the snow. Then she grabbed some snow and used it to wipe off the… mess. "There, that'll do for now… Is there any juice left in the berry?"

Azelf inspected the berry. "A little."

"Well, then, give it to it."

He tried to open the baby Pokemon's mouth, but it bit him again. "Ow! Celebi, I really think it likes you more than me."

She grunted, picking the baby up again. It was quiet now, not crying anymore, but was still wriggling. Opening its mouth and holding the mouth open, she nodded to Azelf, who held the crushed berry over the baby's mouth and let a few drops fall into it. Immediately the baby Pokemon froze. After a moment, as Celebi and Azelf looked on, it swallowed.

Both of them sighed in relief. "I'll be going now, then," Celebi said, holding the baby out to Azelf.

He took it. "Come back right away, _please_."

"Don't worry, I will." She stood. "First, though, I'm going to wash off this… stuff. Do you mind if I use your lake?"

"Hey, I have to live there, you know."

She shrugged and jumped into the lake anyway, not making a splash as she disappeared. Azelf stared into the water. _That's it, the next time this thing poops I'll smear it all over her trees. …Or I would, if I could go there._

Momentarily she emerged, water falling off her as she climbed back onto the snow-covered banks and shivered. Water dripped from her now-clean body, making grooves in the snow as it ran back into the lake where it had come from.

"Gah! The water's freezing." She blinked her huge eyes, wrapping her arms around herself to try to keep the warmth in.

He smirked. "That's what you get for trying to pollute my lake. And you should have known it would be cold, it's winter."

She glared, fanning her wings to try to dry them. "Well… Ugh, I don't have anything to say to that. Fine."

"…Are you going to go to Uxie, or what?"

"Don't be _too_ sad when I leave."

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's called sarcasm. It'll get more popular in a few years."

"Alright, whatever. But really, are you going to leave?"

"Of course I am. As soon as my wings are dry."

"It's your fault you jumped in my lake, you know."

"No, it's… the baby's fault."

"Oh. Okay then."

Finally Celebi decided her insect-like wings were dry enough. Standing back up, but still shivering, she smiled and waved, before turning away. "See you… very soon, if this works out."

He nodded. "Good luck."

With that, Celebi rose into the air and flew off into the sparkling, snow-filled trees.


	4. Trouble on the Road

**Chapter 4**

Cold did not agree with Celebi. Not at all.

Unfortunately, it was winter. Celebi was trying to keep warm and stay in the air at the same time, which wasn't easy. She had thought that she would warm up as she flew, since exercise was supposed to do that, but to her dismay she found that she was just getting colder. The trees had sheltered Lake Valor from the wind, but now, as she flew over the treetops, the wind bit into her exposed skin, chilling it.

She shivered uncontrollably, dipping every once in a while as the wind picked up momentarily. She wanted to go lower into the forest, but then she would have to dodge around the trees, and that would slow her down. So she had to deal with it.

_This is one time I wouldn't mind being a human. At least they have those warm clothes…_ She blinked and shuddered as the wind became stronger. Then she was confronted with a sight that wasn't that unusual, but that startled her nonetheless.

The trees broke open in front of her, revealing… a human settlement. Immediately Celebi halted, her wings buzzing frantically as they tried to counter her momentum. She continued for a few feet, but soon stopped and simply hovered. Once she was safe from falling, she stared dumbly at the village, watching the humans go about their business. Wearing their nice, warm, winter clothes.

_Where did this place come from?! I didn't think it was here yet!_ She wrapped her arms around herself and continued to stare, trying to make her frozen brain work. Her mind was almost in a haze, focused entirely on the cold. Her breath made white puffs in the air.

_What should I do? It's in my way, but I don't want to be seen by any humans…_ She struggled with the problem. After a minute or so, she came up with an answer.

_Duh! Go around it!_ She wanted to smack herself, but she also didn't want to risk moving her arms, which were warming up against her body.

The wind picked up again, and once more she shivered, grunting as it slashed across her body. Then she altered her course, starting to fly off to the right, and moving lower to the ground as she gave up trying to endure the wind.

No sooner had she done so than she heard it. You see, in winter most people don't talk very much. It probably has something to do with the cold. So there was an almost complete silence. Which was good, because that meant Celebi didn't miss the cry that came from the village below.

"Celebi!"

For a moment she flew on, oblivious, her mind foggy from the cold and not comprehending. Then she stopped abruptly, realizing what had been said. A moment later she realized what it meant.

She had been spotted. By a human.

_Crap._

Celebi's wings buzzed as she shot forward through the trees, her breathing and her heartbeat speeding up. If there was one thing she had learned during her life, it was to avoid humans. It seemed like whenever one of them saw her, it invariably tried to capture her. She was lucky; she had never been caught. Unlike some other Pokemon who were considered just as rare by the humans, like Azelf, who had been caught once before but managed to get free.

She stole a glance backward, seeing nothing. But when she looked back at what was ahead of her, she saw to her surprise and dismay that in her way was a large, brown, rock wall. And, as she discovered when she collided head-on with it a second later, it was a very hard and unforgiving rock wall.

She screamed. Pain slashed through her head as she struck it and fell to the snow-covered ground. Then she simply laid there, stunned, looking up at the sky.

For a long time she didn't move. She couldn't. Her head was hurting too much. It wasn't until a flash of yellow appeared in the corner of her vision that she started moving. She braced herself, then sat up, but winced and grabbed her head as her headache increased.

A high, static-like noise came from in front of her. Groaning, she looked up, and saw a Pokemon standing there. It was small, smaller than her, and it was mostly yellow. Its two large ears were tipped with black, and on each cheek was a red dot, while behind it waved a lightning-bolt-shaped tail. After a moment of mental struggle, Celebi identified it: Pikachu.

The Pikachu stared at Celebi, its eyes narrowed. Celebi just stared back, too disoriented to do anything else. After a moment, she noticed another flash of yellow in the corner of her vision, and when she glanced at it she saw that there was another Pikachu there.

With the sound of twigs breaking, a large figure emerged from the forest. A large _human_ figure. As Celebi looked up at it in dismay, she tried to judge its age but couldn't. It was wrapped up in its blue, warm clothing, and she couldn't see enough of it to tell.

It looked at her, studying her. She didn't like that look, she'd seen it before. Right before someone tried to capture her. Finally it said, "Jolt, use Quick Attack."

_Jolt? What the heck is a—_ One of the Pikachu charged at her. Before she could react, it slammed into her, knocking her backward and causing her to collide with the rock wall. Again. As it scurried to a spot a few feet away, she moaned, grabbing at her head, which now hurt even more.

The human threw something at her. Reacting instinctively, she focused, causing shimmering, semitransparent boulders to appear in the air above her. They shot forward, hitting the object that was sailing toward her, and knocked it to the ground. It embedded itself in the snow.

Celebi tried to stand, and managed to do so by leaning against the wall. The human grunted, then said, "Spark, use—"

Celebi then did something completely out of desperation. "Stop!" she called telepathically.

The human froze, then blinked, and slowly scanned its surroundings. Finally it looked back at Celebi. "Did… you say that?" it asked slowly.

"Yes! Please, leave me alone." The wind picked up, breaking through the forest around her and making her shiver.

The human stared. For a long moment it was frozen in indecision. Then, finally, the two Pikachu disappeared in a flash of light, and the human turned and ran.

Celebi breathed a sigh of relief. _I don't know how long I would have held out in a fight… I can barely stand._

She took in her surroundings again, looking up and seeing that the stone wall seemed to be man-made. _Where am I? Ow…_ She flinched as a stab of pain spread through her head again. _I can't stay here, they'll know where I am. Have to keep going…_

With some effort, she fluttered her wings, rising into the air a little. Then, ignoring her headache and trying but not succeeding to ignore the cold, she flew off.

~.~

By the time night fell a few hours later, Celebi's headache had abated, though it was still a little sore to the touch. Night didn't help the fact that she was still freezing, though.

She wanted to stop for the night, but there was no shelter. She was still in the forest, and thought it was full of trees, none of them provided the shelter she wanted. _Holes in tree trunks are very overrated_, she decided. _At least it's not snowing._

She continued on through the night, gradually getting sleepier and colder and generally more miserable. It was at times like these that she envied Mew's ability to Teleport. But there was nothing she could do, so she simply had to deal with it.

After what seemed like an eternity, light appeared on the horizon, the sky beginning to turn gray. Celebi didn't even look twice as the sun began to rise, instead concentrating on staying awake.

As hues of violet and orange spread across the sky, as if painted by an artist's brush, a flash of light on the horizon caught her attention. Gradually becoming larger as she approached it, she soon saw, to her immense relief, that it was a vast, sprawling lake, sparkling in the new day's light.

She sighed, blinking in an effort to stay awake. _Finally._

A few minutes later, she reached the lake and descended, dropping lightly to the snow at its edge. Almost immediately, she collapsed and fell asleep.


	5. Oracle

**Chapter 5**

Celebi resurfaced, reluctantly, not wanting to leave the peacefulness of sleep. Too bad. Remembering what she had to do and where she was, she forced her eyes open. In front of them she saw something white.

_Huh?_ She groaned and sat up, shivering as she realized that she was freezing. Especially her back, since it had been touching the snow. As she glanced around, she realized where she was. The white thing she had seen at first was the sky, full of clouds, and she was still where she had been when she'd fallen asleep. Lake Acuity.

Getting to her feet, and still half-asleep, she shook herself to try and wake up. Then she walked to the edge of the lake, took a deep breath, and called, "Uxie! Are you here?"

The water, which mysteriously was not frozen over (for which Celebi envied it), began to bubble. Shortly a small yellow and blue figure emerged from it, without a splash or a sound.

The creature hovered in the air above the water. It looked almost exactly like Azelf, but its head was shaped like a helmet instead of a point, and that "helmet" was yellow. Its eyes were also closed, but it faced Celebi as if it could see her. After a moment, it spoke in a telepathic voice. "That is an interesting question. You know as well as I do that I cannot leave this place."

Celebi glared. "That's beside the point, Uxie. I came to find you. I need some help, and since you know almost everything I figured you were the one to ask. You see, I found an egg in the future, but it hatched—"

"—Into a Celebi," he interrupted. "Yes, I know. You don't have to tell me things I already know."

She blinked. "Oh. Well, then, can you help me?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes…"

"So… Where did it come from? And why does it look like me?"

He was silent for several moments, before saying, "It… is the same race as you. In fact, I would say it was closely related to you. But…" He trailed off.

"Where did it come from?"

He frowned. "I… Celebi. There is something you have to understand. As much as I would like to believe I know everything… I only know about things that have happened already. I cannot tell the future." Uxie hung his head.

Celebi stared. "You… don't know?"

"…No…"

She paused to allow that information to sink in. "…But, what will I tell Azelf?"

"I do not know. I am sorry, but there is nothing more I can tell you."

"Then… what should I do? Do you have any guesses?"

He lifted his head, pausing thoughtfully. "I believe… what you should do is go to the future where you found the egg and ask my future self. Hopefully then I will be able to give you the answers you seek. Coincidentally, how far in the future did you find this egg?"

She remembered. "About a hundred years. Ninety-seven, to be exact."

"Well, then, I will wait for you to find me again in ninety-seven years."

Celebi nodded. "By the way… how long was I asleep for? And just out of curiosity, why didn't you wake me up?"

"You slept for six hours, fifty-one minutes. And I wanted you to sleep, you were tired. I would have moved you to a more comfortable location if it weren't for you attacking me in your sleep, and if I knew of any such location."

"Oh. Sorry."

"I'm sure."

Celebi smiled. "Thanks, Uxie. I guess I'll be going to the future now."

He smiled as well. "You are very welcome. Goodbye."

"…Why do you always have to talk like that?" she asked teasingly. "What's wrong with 'see you later' or 'bye'?"

He stopped in confusion. "What is wrong with the way I speak? Any method of saying 'goodbye' still has the same general meaning."

"Okay, well, bye." She grinned, then disappeared in a flash of light.

Uxie didn't move. _I speak correctly, do I not?..._

After several seconds, he shrugged and sank back into the water of Lake Acuity.

~.~

The Snorunt looked around at the frozen wasteland. No one else was in sight. Emitting a small cry, it sniffed the ground and then continued on its way, constantly scanning its surroundings. It was experienced enough to know that even the calmest areas can contain grave danger.

Suddenly, it spotted something. Emitting another sharp cry and toddling toward whatever it was, it scrutinized it through the thin screen of snow that was constantly falling from the sky. Gradually, it was able to make out the object's shape. It was a small green fairy-like Pokemon.

Celebi surveyed the area in disbelief, shivering at the cold. _Did I get this right? Isn't Lake Acuity still supposed to be here?_ But there was nothing except snow.

A noise came from behind her, and she turned. Looking at her were two beady, blue eyes. Instinctively she took a step backward. "Uh, hi."

The Snorunt blinked, then stepped forward and emitted another cry.

Celebi stared at it. It was a little scary, not in the least because it was taller than she was and its primary element was one of her weaknesses. Cold. "Hey, do you, um, know where Lake Acuity is? By any chance?"

It sucked in a breath. Celebi gulped and stepped backward again. "Oh, uh, do you want me to leave? Am I trespassing or something?"

It didn't respond, but held its breath.

Celebi glanced at its eyes, seeing its intent, then turned and ran. She didn't get very far before the Snorunt exhaled, sending chilled air in her direction. She screamed as her body suddenly became frozen, frost covering it, and she collapsed wearily, too cold now to even shiver. She shut her eyes a moment before her face hit the snow.

The Snorunt watched her. When she didn't move for a long time, and it was satisfied that it had successfully protected its territory, it turned and waddled away.

After a while longer, Celebi stirred. Then she disappeared, with another flash of light.


	6. Triumphant Return

**Chapter 6**

Celebi returned to awareness and found that she was lying on something cold and fluffy. Immediately she recognized it: snow. She forced her eyes open, trying to remember what had just happened.

She was greeted with the sight of green, snow-covered leaves, forming a canopy above her. She realized she was lying on her back, under a tree.

Sitting up, she glanced around herself and shivered. She was cold and wet, but she was alive. And alert.

Then she stood up sharply as her memory returned. _Uxie! And the lake… It was gone. But then… where will Uxie go? I need to find him… I transported myself back to the time I came from… Should I go back to Lake Valor? Uxie can't help me anymore, but—_

She smiled slightly as a thought occurred to her. _I found the egg in the future near Lake Valor. Maybe I should go back to a little bit before I found the egg, and see how it got there. But first… I have to get back to Lake Valor._

She sighed, giving her wings a flutter, and rose into the air. Then, she flew off through the trees, heading southeast.

~.~

Once Celebi disappeared from his sight, Azelf sighed and looked down at the baby Celebi. _You know, I wonder if we're going to have to keep you. What if you really are our future child? That would be… awkward… But we won't know until Celebi gets back._

The baby made a small noise and grabbed at him with one of its tiny hands. He smiled. _It may be annoying at times, but I kind of like it… It reminds me of Celebi. Heh, I guess it would since it looks like her…_

He looked up in surprise at a rustling sound. To his astonishment, Celebi emerged from the trees she had just disappeared into, only she looked much more tired and worn out. She gave him a small smile as she landed next to him.

He stared. "You're back already?"

She nodded. "Remember, I said I would travel back to right after I left."

"Of course I remember, you just told me a couple minutes ago. But I thought you would at least wait a little bit… Anyway, did you meet Uxie?"

"Yes." She frowned.

"What did he say?"

"…He said it was related to me. Closely. But… He didn't know anything else about it."

Azelf froze. "What? He didn't _know_ anything else about it? This _is_ Uxie we're talking about, right?"

She only nodded.

"But… That's like saying…"

"That the great warrior Azelf would be taking care of a baby?" Celebi finished, grinning slightly.

"Yes, it's like saying that— Hey! That's not funny." He glared. "And you'd better not tell anyone about this, or—"

She stepped toward him. "Or what?"

He stood, still holding the baby Pokemon. "Or… I'll think of something."

She paused to consider that. "Well, that would be an occasion, wouldn't it? You thinking of something…"

"That's not funny either."

She giggled. "You can't hurt me."

"And why not?"

"Because…" She didn't finish her sentence, instead she leaned forward and kissed him.

He was taken by surprise at first, but then he relaxed and returned it. "You're a very crafty person," he said telepathically.

She put her arms around his neck. "I know."

"No fair, I'm holding the baby."

Celebi broke away after a long moment, then glanced down at the baby version of herself. "Oh. That brings me to my next point."

"What's that?"

"I'm going to go to the future, a little before I found it, and try and see if I can figure out where it came from. After all, there aren't going to be many clues in this time."

Azelf processed that, then sighed. "And I'm going to have to stay here and take care of the thing?"

She hesitated, then nodded, pulling away from him. "I'm sorry, but we can't just leave it here. I won't be gone for very long, but I would feel more comfortable if you were taking care of it."

He nodded resignedly. "Alright. I'm just worried that something might happen to you, and I won't be able to help you."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. And when I find something I'll come back and tell you."

"I would tell you to hurry, but I guess that isn't a problem since you can time-travel. But…" He glanced at her concernedly. "You seem tired. What happened?"

She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her head. "Cold doesn't get along with me very well. And I didn't get any sleep last… this night, or the next when I flew back. Plus, on the way there I ran into some trouble…"

"Trouble?! And you didn't tell me?"

"There was no need to. Obviously I'm still here. Some trainer tried to capture me, but I got away."

"Oh…" He gave a small smile.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." She kissed his cheek, then disappeared in a flash of light.

~.~

A wasteland stretched out for miles. Nothing moved. Nothing lived, except in the tall shiny white building that sat in its center, a lone sentinel left on guard.

There was a flash of light in the middle of the wasteland. After a moment, it faded out of existence, revealing a spot of green amid the brown, cracked earth.

Celebi surveyed her surroundings with a dismal expression. _How could this have happened? There should be a huge lake here, but there's nothing… I didn't even think it was possible for an entire lake to just disappear…_

She glanced at the tall white building in the distance. _At least this makes my job a lot easier… Nothing could live here, so that narrows my search down to that building._

As she watched the building, surrounded by deafening silence, she shivered in apprehension. _I don't like this…_

She hesitated a moment longer before taking off, heading toward the building.


End file.
